I grew up in Istanbul and studied sculpture at Mimar Sinan University, then continued my postgraduate studies in America. After attending a year of Post-Baccalaureate Certificate Program at PAFA(Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts) in Philadelphia. I was awarded The Fulbright Scholarship and received my MFA in Sculpture from SUNY (State University of New York) Albany. I have worked as an art facilitator, art advisor and sculptor and have created countless art-based projects for children. I founded PACE Kids Arts Center in 2005, where I work to encourage children and adults to discover the creativity they have within them.

Flights of fantasy - the power of Art

I will be talking about art and how being in touch with art, making and/or experiencing, can add to our lives and equip us in ways we never thought it would. Art in most societies is seen as a luxury and is the first thing to be sacrificed in any crises. But, on the contrary, I believe it is a very important need, a need to experience life from a different perspective, experience ourselves in a different way. To me what makes Art special is that when we are making Art or experiencing it, we are engaged fully, mentally, psychologically and physically. What are the most basic, bare bones elements that make up each one of us? What are we made of? I think Art can be a perfect answer to these questions. But if Art can be an answer, we need to talk about what Art is first. This might be the hardest question in the world for most people and they may just fly away!

We will make it the easiest question in the world to start with… What do you think Art is?